Women Fine-Tune Skills with Humility, Tenacity

By Risa Shimoda

Last July, we offered a new series of Sunday paddling sessions whose name evolved a bit to reflect the attitude of its participants. It started out as "Tips and Tricks for Women Over 50," and I described the target group a bit differently when referring to the recruits as "Women who Remember President Reagan."  

We offered the session as one in which we would practice rolling, work on high-and-tight eddy catching, look for and execute nice s-turns, surf, and tackle the ubiquitous challenge of hucking a boat onto one's vehicle. While participants included those who didn't need to worry about the last topic given their ample height, strength, and agility, I added that final item because I think about it every day when I approach my vehicle, whose doors bear scars from less-than-smooth boat-loading efforts. 

I hosted an evening Zoom get-together to gather input from those who self-identified accordingly on what they would seek from a class for this age group.  The Zoom session was characterized by curiosity, enthusiasm, and a sense that this could be a class in which they did not have to show any particular level of expertise. They only needed to "show up, as is" to share their interest in paddling, relearn a skill, or brush up on techniques. The class subtitle then became "Tips and Tricks for Women Who Are … Over It!"

We paddled the GW Canal Weeks 1 and 2, then Anglers to Lock 10 Weeks 3 and 4. We numbered eight or nine ladies who each have logged many river miles. A few missed their paddling buddies who had moved away, or they'd sustained an injury that took them off the river and didn't have a ready-made group to jump into. Some hoped to overcome rustiness or persistent not-great habits with this slightly different peer group. Most attended a couple of sessions. After a week or two, we began the day with a stretching sequence from Benny Marr, which they could find online, to remind them of the technique. 

We were as lucky as can be to have one stalwart attendee who joined each week and needed no tips at all: Pam Foley. Pam is often on the river and was the greatest-ever contributor to our group's venue planning, which took into account the paddling and hiking/carrying demands of the reaches we chose.

Over the course of the four weeks, we saw people beam as they rediscovered the grace that lay behind their reticence and cheer when they saw the success of others. I am sure our group's favorite warrior was Louise Saulnier. At 79, she was our most senior participant. On the final day, she shared that she had decided to practice her roll in a lake near her home (near Frederick) the week before. She positioned herself near a boat dock. She figured that if she did not right herself, she could dog-paddle over (while in her upside-down boat), grab a piling, and pull herself up to avoid having to wet-exit (this is an amazing visual, y'all). Well, Louise rolled by the end of the month, and we all could not be more proud of her grit.

I'd like to host this same series and improve it this year. If you are interested in attending a 2.0 version of “Tips and Tricks for Women Who Are Over It,” whether or not you joined us in 2025, please let me or our club trip leaders know. If there is interest, I'll post the schedule and host a Zoom again in June to learn what you'd like to repeat, practice, or try as something new.